By Manuel Polanco
Reggaeton icon and Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny started off the year with a bang by dropping his highly anticipated album ‘DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS’ on Jan. 5 after teasing it with two singles and promotional videos over the past year.
The album was met with instant praise and hype as many fans fell in love with the project’s salsa influence, instrumentals, and the political message that came with the release. He released a short film on Jan. 3 dubbed which shared a name with the album.
The short film asks a simple question: when does a home become a memory? The film follows an old man and his friend, El Coqui Concho, as they reminisce about an older Puerto Rico and the life the old man lived. It is through these photos we see the theme of the album and film, The importance of preserving your culture and memories.
As the film goes on, the pair get hungry and the old man decides to get something to eat, heading to the local bakery to get his favorite food. It’s here we see how his identity and the identity of Puerto Rico has been lost due to capitalism and tourism. As he’s walking to the bakery, he sees and hears things that are not familiar to his home, such as a random white family grilling on property that had an identity before them.
When he arrives at the bakery, he is met with a cashier who does not speak the same language as him and offers him multiple versions of the sandwich he wants. One of the most important moments in this film is when he asks for queso de papa, which is a cheese popular in the Caribbean, but is instead told if he wants American cheese.
The old man cannot pay for his food due to the bakery only accepting contactless payments. Disheartened, he turns to leave, but is helped by a fellow countryman who pays for his meal and simply tells him, “We’re still here.”
“We’re still here”: a phrase so simple, yet so powerful. When your culture is stolen from you and your country robbed of its identity, there is nothing stronger than the bond you share with others, especially when they’re your people and you help each other out.
Puerto Ricans have long since been in solidarity with their cause of a free Puerto Rico, a future where they can live how they want and rid themselves of colonial U.S rule. Puerto Rico became a U.S. colony in 1898 after the U.S. defeated Spain in the Spanish-American war. Since then, Puerto Rican and American cultures have interacted with each other in many ways, one of the main drivers being tourism. Tourism has led to the sale of many parts of the island to high-end investors, which has led to a rise of the cost of living for the residents of the island.
Bad Bunny has expressed pride in his country since his early works and uses his platform to advocate for prosperity and a free Puerto Rico. This is best exhibited in the song, “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii,” in which he compares the Puerto Rican struggle for independence to the colonization of Hawai’i. Bad Bunny sings to his people, telling them not to forget who they are and to fight against imperialist agendas that have ransacked their homes.
In his song, “NUEVAYoL,” he sampled a salsa song by Puerto Rican salsero, Andy Montanez, and mixed it with the loud bass fast paced drum rhythm that is common in Dominican dembow. This created an anthem that blended Borinquen culture and represented the connection between New York and the Caribbean.
One of the most beautiful songs on the album is called “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,” and fans have connected with the song in various ways. Some fans interpreted the piece as a remembrance of shared memories with loved ones, while others interpreted it as a ballad in remembrance of a loved one who is no longer in your life, hence, “I should have taken more photos.”
This beautiful song became popular on TikTok as many people used the platform to post photos of loved ones, a trend that pulled at the heartstrings of Bad Bunny himself. As an artist who takes pride in his culture and those who came before him, this album acts as an amalgamation of Puerto Rican culture, history, and human connection.